Expats share the joy of Ramadhan away from home

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): "With growing commerce came new sets of values and concerns ... As values changed and the gap between the rich and poor widened, resentment among the less fortunate began to intensify. It was an uneasy world .... "

This could very well be a description of our world on the eve of the new millennium, except that Mathew S. Gordon, a scholar of Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University, is talking about the world into which Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 A.D.

As Ramadhan, Islam's holy month of fasting and prayer, slips into its third week and the planet's one billion Muslims prepare to celebrate Idul Fitri, the festivities that follow the fasting month, the question remains as to where this great mass of humanity is headed in 2000.

Often it seems that little of what the prophet so painstakingly tried to teach is practiced, as people continue to hurt each other either over religion, politics or commerce. Talking to Muslims from around the world who live in the Indonesian capital, The Jakarta Post discovered that many feel the last 1,400 years since the birth of Muhammad in the heart of the Arabian desert may well have been a mirage, since little seems to have changed.

They wonder why it is so difficult to emulate Muhammad, Islam's very first believer and a modest merchant who meditated centuries ago in the darkness of a cave in a vast and barren desert, winning over hearts through his inspired utterances and above all by his personal example.

After all, the teachings of Islam are simple enough and clear in that there is only one God, or Allah, and the last in a long line of prophets is Muhammad. However, Islam has grown into something more than just a major world religion since Muhammad's first visions from Allah. Today it is also a powerful legal, social, economic and cultural force, and a complex and mighty influence that spreads from the Atlantic coast of North Africa to China and India.

According to John Dunn, an author in Lucent's World History Series, no other religion has ever encompassed a greater mixture of ethnic, racial and linguistic types than Islam. Even Rome at its pinnacle paled in comparison to the range of Muslim authority.

Englishman Sir Richard Burton passed himself off as a Muslim to make a secret journey to Mecca in 1855, leaving behind a first-person account of the diverse mass of humanity that flowed into the city one moonlit night. "The oval pavement around the Kaaba was crowded with men, women, and children ... What a scene of contrasts! Here stalked the Badawi woman ... There an Indian woman ... A few fair-skinned Turks lounged about ... In another, some poor wretch, with arms thrown on high, so that every part of his person might touch the Kaaba was clinging to the curtain and sobbing as though his heart would break."

While it is true that the birthplace of Islam is the Arabian Peninsula and that the holy text of the Koran is in the Arabic language, today Arabs are but one in a variety of people who practice the religion.

In fact most Muslims are not Arabs, they do not speak Arabic and the great majority live outside of the Middle East and North Africa.

"I am on medication and therefore not fasting. But whenever I do, I feel like a different person. I find that Ramadhan is a wonderful exercise in self-control, patience and the joy of sharing," said Nasima Haider, counselor and deputy chief of mission at the Bangladesh Embassy here.

Although the majority of people in Bangladesh are Muslims, the country is a secular state that is tolerant of non-Islamic religions.

Siam, Nasima's colleague at the embassy, said the Idul Fitri celebration in Dacca was a lively event that carried on for three nights and days. "It's like after having practiced self-control and patience for a whole month, one lets oneself go on Idul Fitri. We pray together, eat together and visit people we have not seen in many months. To me Ramadhan is like preparing myself and my soul to face the rest of the year with as much goodness as is possible."

Both Siam and Nasima wish they could return home for the festivities, when shops are open all night and roadside vendors sell the most delicious chickpea dishes made anywhere in the world, according to the pair.

Many Muslim societies today seem chaotic and confused, but individual believers continue to make an effort to do as Allah wills. Despite the physical demands of fasting, there is much rejoicing during Ramadhan, which celebrates Muhammad's receiving of the Koran in 610 A.D.

On Idul fitri, or the feast to end the fast, Muslims gather with family and friends for long meals, the sharing of gifts and religious devotions. In many countries it is a national holiday, and many people who are abroad for work or study travel home to be with their families.

Omar Hilale, the Moroccan ambassador, will not return home but finds the celebration of Idul fitri so similar here that he is happy to be in Jakarta. "Our practice of Islam is similar to the moderate, tolerant ways practiced here and we too feel obliged to respect all decent human beings irrespective of the faith they follow," said Hilale, adding it is only God who can decide whether a person is right or wrong, not mere human beings like us.

He said that if he was celebrating Idul Fitri in Morocco, he would visit the graves of his family after morning prayer at the mosque. This is a tradition which serves as a reminder to the living that a similar fate awaits them, so they must correct their behavior while there is still time.

Hilale also said a favorite dish cooked for the lavish Idul Fitri lunch includes a fish cocktail called pastilla. Then there is the shish kebab, and milk and fruit drinks, along with a variety of sweets that are served to a constant flow of guests.

Children have the most fun at Idul Fitri, when in many parts of the world they are given new clothes, presents and money. Children seek out as many adults as possible and are extremely polite and respectful toward them in anticipation of money and presents.

Salma Hussain, an Indian Muslim visiting Jakarta, tries to read the entire Koran during Ramadhan and celebrates Idul Fitri in a gesture of thanksgiving to God for all he has provided her in this life.

Talaat Lotfy, head of information at the Egyptian Embassy, asked to be posted in Jakarta for a second time because he feels at home here. "No doors are closed to me in Indonesia and I enjoy celebrating Idul Fitri here," he said, extending the Post an invitation to share with him konafa and kataif cakes made from honey and flour.

Khalid Shebli, a counselor at the Iraq Embassy, is unable to put into words the joy that consumes him during the month of Ramadhan.

"Something is different. I feel closer to God. It is a sensation I do not feel at any other time during the year," he said, and in the spirit of sharing invited the Post to share some gemar, a thick dollop of cream served with honey and nuts, and delicious cakes made from flour and dates.